New cargo to the Celestial Empire

The Russian Ministry of Agriculture has suggested allowing export shipments of rapeseed to Asian countries through the border checkpoints of the Far Eastern Federal District, starting September 1. According to Russian Railways, this decision will help domestic businesses to get going supplies of the product to foreign markets.

Russia's rapeseed export supplies have been suspended since April 1, 2022. The restrictions were introduced because of the risk of deficit on the domestic market and the need to restrain the price growth. The document is valid until August 31 this year.

Now the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation proposes allowing export rapeseed shipments from September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2023. The corresponding draft resolution of the government is published on the federal portal of normative legal acts. According to the document, railway export shipments will be allowed only through seven checkpoints of Zabaykalsky Krai, including Makhalino, Nizhneleninskoye, Pogranichny, Zabaikalsk (in service with China), Khasan (in service with DPRK), and Naushki and Kyahta (in service with Mongolia).

In addition, the draft resolution provides for the possibility of road, river and sea shipments. Thus, it is proposed to organize rapeseed transportation to China through automobile checkpoints such as Kani-Kurgan, Kraskino, Pokrovka, Poltavka, and Turiy Rog.

It will be possible to deliver the product abroad by sea through the ports of Far Eastern Federal District including Vanino, Vladivostok, Vostochny, De-Kastri, Zarubino, Nakhodka, Nikolaevsk-on-Amur, Okhotsk, Posyet, Sovetskaya Gavan and also through the port in the west of Russia - Kaliningrad. It is also proposed to open a river crossing point at Khabarovsk.

The list of Russian-Chinese crossing points available for export also includes mixed crossings (organized for international river and automobile traffic: by ships during navigation and by automobiles on ice during the freeze-up period - Ed.) Among them are Amurzet, Blagoveshchensk, Nizhneleninskoye, Pokrovka, Poyarkovo, and Skovorodino.

As Sergey Galkin, deputy head of operations of Russian Railways' Center of Firm Transport Service, told "Gudok", after the restrictions are lifted, the holding company will be able to ensure the timely export of rapeseed in full.

"The Ministry of Agriculture proposes allowing shipments of this product from the Far East. The share of rapeseed shipments from this region is insignificant in relation to the total loading of Russian Railways, and so the lifting of this restriction will not hamper train traffic on the railway network. Meanwhile, such decision will allow Far Eastern exporters to organize rapeseed supplies to foreign markets," Sergey Galkin believes.

The press service of the Ministry of Agriculture emphasizes that opening of export services in the Far Eastern Federal District will allow to prevent overstocking of rapeseed market in the region and, as a consequence, reduction of production volumes of this product.

According to Dmitry Rylko, the General Director of the Institute of Agrarian Market Conjuncture, opening of export railway transportation specifically at Far Eastern border crossings is connected with rapeseed surplus in Western Siberia. The agency suggested that the Siberian rapeseed should be shipped to the Asian market in order to sell this product.

According to Sergey Sokolov, the General Director of Novosibirskkhleboprodukt JSC, the opening of export shipments in Trans-Baikal Territory will give market participants an opportunity to increase the volume of products for shipments to China.

"Nevertheless, to increase supplies to China, it is important to simplify the procedure of rapeseed inspection for GMOs at border checkpoints," he believes. “At the same time, China consumes a lot of vegetable oils, including rapeseed oil, and this is why entrepreneurs from China are largely interested in buying finished products - rapeseed oil. Such cargo does not require additional processing for further sale".

Anastasia Baranets

22 august 2022